Creating communicatively accessible healthcare environments: Perceptions of speech-language pathologists

Abstract

There is a growing body of research that indicates that a person with a communication disability communicates and participates more effectively given a communicatively accessible environment. If this research is to be translated into practice then one needs to determine who will take on the role of creating communicatively accessible environments. This research adopted a qualitative methodology to explore the perceptions of speech-language pathologists about working to create communicatively accessible healthcare settings. Fifteen speech-language pathologists in three focus groups participated in this research. The focus group discussions were transcribed and analysed thematically. Thematic analysis indicated that speech-language pathologists believe there are four main benefits in creating communicatively accessible healthcare environments. These are Benefits for all people: Access for all, Benefits for healthcare administrators, Benefits for those wanting to improve communication with patients, and Benefits to the capacity to provide communicatively accessible environments. However, they believe these benefits can only be achieved if; The communication resources are available, Skilled, knowledgeable and supportive healthcare providers are available; and Systems are in place to support a whole-of-hospital approach. This research supports the development of a new role to improve the communicative accessibility of healthcare settings.

The relevance of stroke care for living well with post-stroke aphasia: a qualitative interview study with working-aged adults

“…PWA were sometimes vulnerable to adverse events and substandard care as a result. Similar barriers to patient-centred care have been reported previously [85][86][87].…”

Translating stepped psychological care to aphasia rehabilitation

“…The finding that physical space and resources for managing depression and communication disability after post-stroke aphasia is important and consistent with past research investigating communication access in healthcare (O'Halloran, et al, 2014). This finding is also relevant to recent research that investigated the enrichment of hospital environments to increase frequency of activity for patients after stroke (Rosbergen, et al, 2017).…”

“…identification and management of depression after stroke and aphasia. However, communication access in hospital and community environments is often inadequate (O'Halloran, Shan Lee, Rose, & Liamputtong, 2014). In addition, health professionals may not be skilled in communication support and may avoid communication with people with aphasia (Kagan, 1995;Carling-Rowland, et al, 2014).…”

Raising Awareness of Hearing and Communication Disorders Among Emergency Medical Services Students: Are Knowledge Translation Workshops Useful?

“…Patient-provider communication in the prehospital setting is inherently challenging due to reasons associated with the prehospital environment, such as instability of the scene, weather conditions, crowded scenes, and interacting with patients having special needs in hectic times. [27][28][29] EMS providers are required to act promptly, within a short time frame, to determine the nature of the illness, medical history, ask specific questions related to the chief complaint, and intervene properly based on the gathered information. 27 The lack of or ineffective EMS provider-patient communication in unstable conditions and limited time can lead to unwanted outcomes as the possibility of medical errors or delayed intervention increases.…”